Four Weeks Later
“Sooo…you’re dating but not?” Jessica asked, sipping her wine as she looked at Bethany with disbelief written on her face.
“Yeah?” Bethany shrugged.
“I’m…confused.”
“Okay. What about?”
Jessica gulped the last of her wine down and reached for the bottle sitting in the bucket beside their table, filling her glass and topping Bethany’s off. They were sitting in a busy restaurant in downtown Chapel Hill waiting for their respective men to join them.
“You talked. You both agreed to date. But to not label it or anything?”
Bethany nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“But…I don’t get it. You’re not seeing anyone else. Is he?” She shook her head and Jessica continued. “Okay, so you’re exclusive, but you’re not? This makes zero sense.”
Bethany sighed. “I get why you’re confused, but it’s really not all that confusing. We agreed to date and to have the potential to see other people if we wanted, but neither of us do.”
“Then why don’t you just say you’re boyfriend and girlfriend!”
Bethany shrugged and dropped her gaze. While she was trying to play it cool for Jessica, inside she was a mess. She knew that she was ready to just say that she and Scott were dating and they were exclusive. But any hint that they were sent him into a panic. She understood, she really did, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“Girl, you need to define the relationship. I think at this point, it’s time. I can tell you’re worried about it.”
Bethany shrugged.
“Bethany, seriously. Why haven’t you tried to get him to admit you’re exclusive at least, without labeling it?”
Bethany sighed. “He told me about his ex, so I get his hesitation. He’s scared to take the leap. So I worry that if I push it…”
“He’s going to leave you.”
Bethany nodded and looked away, staring at the wall and blinking rapidly to keep the tears from falling. She sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out, pleased it wasn’t as shaky as she felt.
“Girl, I get it. But the guys just walked in and you need to get it together. Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
Bethany shook her head and cleared her throat, throwing the last of the wine down her throat. Wine wasn’t meant to be a shooter she realized as it burned down her throat, but it served its purpose, which was to mask her teary eyes.
Jessica shook her head and smiled. “Hey!”
“Hey, babe,” Jason said, leaning down to kiss Jessica before sitting next to her.
Bethany glanced up and smiled at Scott. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He looked at her concerned. “You okay?”
She nodded as he sat next to her and kissed her cheek. He looked at her like he didn’t believe her, but didn’t push it.
“How much have y’all had to drink?” Jason asked, picking the mostly empty bottle up out of the bucket.
Jessica shrugged. “You know the answer to that since you’re holding it in your hand.”
“You could have had another one.”
Jessica leveled a glare at Jason. “We’ve been here thirty minutes. To drink more than one bottle of wine would be a feat.”
The two of them started to bicker and Bethany realized Scott was staring at her with a weird look on his face. She looked at him and was taken aback when he threaded his fingers through her. He wasn’t big on PDA, so she wasn’t sure what it meant that he was holding her hand right then.
Scott opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Jason saying, “Stop making eyes at your girlfriend, dude. What do you want to drink?”
Bethany’s face heated at Jason’s words and Scott shot him a glare. She waited for Scott to correct him, but he never did.
“I’m not making eyes at her, asshole. I’m making sure she’s okay.”
She quickly looked at Jessica who looked just as surprised as she felt. Scott talked to Jason and everything faded around her as she turned the previous interaction over her in mind. She heard nothing but the beating of her own heart in her ears.
Finally, she realized that Scott was looking at her with a concerned look again. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
She nodded and swallowed, deciding she’d ask what was bothering her. Better to know the answer than to not, that was for sure. She glanced at the happy couple across the table and saw they were in a conversation with each other and she leaned over to quietly ask him, “Why didn’t you correct Jason on his comment about me being your girlfriend?”
Scott tilted his head so he could meet her eyes. “Do you want me to?”
Bethany wasn’t sure what to say. Did she? No. But she didn’t understand why he didn’t or where this was coming from. She slowly shook her head. She was still so confused.
“Don’t over-think it,” he said. “I know that you haven’t said anything because you want to honor my wishes and misguided notions. But don’t. We’re already dating, so why not just go for it?”
She blinked at him in surprise. “Seriously?” she asked, making sure she’d heard him right.
He nodded. “Yes, seriously.”
She didn’t know what to think or say, so she instead just threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
“Whoa! What the hell, man?” Jason said, making Bethany pull back.
Scott shrugged, and he threw an arm over the back of her chair. “What? I can’t just kiss my girl?”
A thrill of happiness ran through her body at his words. She didn’t realize how much she needed to hear that to help her feel better about everything.
“You’re his girl?” Jessica asked.
Bethany nodded. “Yep.”
A slow smile spread across her face. “Awesome. Glad to hear it.”
The waitress came over to take their orders and Bethany couldn’t get over how happy she was. A month before she thought she’d never be that girl, the one that walked down the aisle to her happily ever after.
But after a few short weeks with Scott, she could already see it in her future, though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone if asked. That was her little secret.
As she looked at her friends and newly-labeled boyfriend, she couldn’t believe how lucky she was and she couldn’t wait to see what the future held.
Want a free book? Sign up for my newsletter!
By signing up, you get my beach-themed novella for free!
https://mailchi.mp/a7ac651c37fc/newslettersignup
Acknowledgments
Like my dedication said, a huge debt of thanks is owed to Jess P. You helped me actually go on and write this and let me bounce ideas off you. I’m so thankful for your help and our conversations. You can’t leave just yet! We have so many more to have!
The next people I need to extend that thanks to are my readers. Without y’all, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be writing this. I wouldn’t be doing this crazy thing called being an author.
Finally, my editor. Thanks so much for squeezing me in at the last minute and getting this to me so quickly.
About the Author
A.M. Williams is just a simple girl from the south that found herself living abroad. When she’s not annoying her cat or reading, she’s spending time with her husband and traveling as much as possible. She has a serious case of wanderlust and wants to go as many places as possible while she can. She loves Cheerwine, sweet tea, and North Carolina (eastern style) BBQ as well as those crystal clear waters on the North Carolina coast.
Follow or like A.M. Williams on the following platforms:
Website: https://authoramwilliams.com
AllAuthor: http://amwilliamsauthor.allauthor.com
Also by A.M. Williams
Standalones
Graceful Matchmaking
Short Stop to Love
Southern Sands Series
Jax
Harry
Veronica
Grayson
&nb
sp; Bentley
Romancing the Beach Page 6